| . | 10/18/2009
The Playboy of The Western World
By: Andy Smith
Lee Stark and Sean McNall
J.M. Synge's 1907 comedy The Playboy of The Western World is one of those works lit majors and serious theatergoers have heard of, but never actually read or seen.
But while many pieces that fall into this category ultimately prove dated or just or disappointing, Playboy leaves its audience wondering "How have I missed this one for so many years?" And, as the first production in the company's new home at City Center, Pearl Theatre Company is giving Synge's hilarious, poetic piece its due.
The new location, an intimate semicircle surrounding the well appointed stage, provides the perfect backdrop for this frequently hilarious work that once caused riots in the streets of Dublin.
The basic premise is simple. Margaret Flaherty, aka Pegeen Mike (Lee Stark), the lovely barmaid in a lonely West Ireland pub, is bemoaning the lack of brave men in the modern world, when in tumbles a disheveled Christy Mahon, a scraggly youth of twenty-some-odd who claims he's been on the road for 10 days after killing his father in a fit of rage.
Rather than hang the seemingly honest (and guilty) young man, the locals choose to protect him, admiring his gumption and fortitude. Pegeen helps secure the farmer's son a job in the pub and quickly transfers her affections to Christy, dismissing her slow, pious fiancé Shawn Keough (Ryan G. Metzger).
The appeal of the spirited young man who “destroyed his father” spreads quickly, as the following day a triptych of barefoot girls from a neighboring village (Ellen Adair, Stephanie Bratnick, Julie Ferrell, all hilarious) turn up to ogle the newcomer.
A more serious threat is posed by the lecherous Widow Quin (Rachel Botchan). Having buried her husband and an unspecified number of children (!), she seems to be more than Christy's match. Other surprises follow, but can’t be revealed without spoiling the fun.
When first performed in its homeland, Playboy of the Western World caused hooting and ultimately riots, holding a cracked mirror up to the superstitious, violence-prone Irish peasantry. And it still packs a punch today.
Plot wise, Playboy could be uprooted and set in almost any violence-prone community, from the inner city to the Russian Mafia. Its beautiful, poetic language and use of rural dialect, however, plants it deeply beneath the Western coast of Ireland a century ago.
New and Familiar Faces Shine:
As the title character, Pearl regular Sean McNall (a 2008 OBIE winner) adds another resilient loser to his impressive portfolio, his Christy a jaunty counterpart to his near-do-well younger brother in Lillian Hellman's Toy in the Attic. Endearing and almost frail in appearance, McNall's also adept at physical comedy, which comes in handy as he action heats up in the last act. Lee Stark, a lovely redhead making her New York debut, is every bit his match as Pegeen Mike.
T.J. Edwards, Bradford Cover, Dominic Cuskern and especially Joe Kady (mud-soaked and enormous as an indestructible patriarch) all do splendid work, though Botchan may be a bit miscast (she’s too pretty) as the scheming Widow Quin.
A comfortable fit:
After 15 years in its cozy signature theater on St. Marks Place, the esteemed Pearl Theatre has pulled off its move uptown to City Center without a hitch.
Pearl always gets top marks for the breadth of productions it’s willing to take on, from Greek Tragedy to Shakespeare, Moliere and less-frequently revived works from the Twentieth Century. While the company’s wide-ranging choices don't always fully succeed, new Artistic Director J.R. Sullivan (after several years with the Utah Shakespearean Festival) has achieved near perfection is his first production for the esteemed company.
through November 22 in Pearl Theatre Company's new location at City Center’s Stage II.
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